Book Bomb for a worthy cause-download Nightingale by David Farland

A dear friend of mine, author David Farland has a sixteen-year old son who is in critical condition following a long-board accident (more info below and at www.helpwolverton.com). I'm joining in a book bomb to spread the word about Dave's fantastic books, and encourage you to help. If you don't already have either of these books by Dave, please purchase copies of them today. They are both fantastic and I can't recommend them highly enough. On top of that, Dave is the most giving author I've ever met, always encouraging and mentoring writers around him. Please click through the links below to purchase the books:

WHAT BOOK SHOULD I PURCHASE?

David Farland’s young adult fantasy thriller NIGHTINGALE has won SEVEN awards, including the Grand Prize at the Hollywood Book Festival--beating out ALL books in ALL categories. It is available as a hardcover ($24.99), ebook ($7.99), audio book ($24.99), and enhanced novel for the iPad ($9.99).

You can purchase it on Amazon: Order on Amazon 

Barnes and Noble:  Order on B&N

The Nightingale website: www.nightingalenovel.com/

You can get the enhanced version complete with illustrations, interviews, animations, and its own soundtrack through iTunes: Order on iTunes
WHAT IF I ALREADY OWN NIGHTINGALE? OR I'M NOT INTERESTED IN IT?

If you are a writer, you may want to consider purchasing David Farland’s MILLION DOLLAR OUTLINES. It has been a bestseller on Amazon for over a month and is only $6.99.

As a bestselling author David Farland has taught dozens of writers who have gone on to staggering literary success, including such #1 New York Times Bestsellers as Brandon Mull (Fablehaven), Brandon Sanderson (Wheel of Time), James Dashner (The Maze Runner) and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight).

In Million Dollar Outlines, Dave teaches how to analyze an audience and outline a novel so that it can appeal to a wide readership, giving it the potential to become a bestseller. The secrets found in his unconventional approach will help you understand why so many of his authors go on to prominence.

Get it on Amazon: Amazon Link

Get it on Barnes and Noble: B&N

Read one of the 26 reviews here: Amazon Reviews


Ben Wolverton, age 16, was in a tragic long-boarding accident on Wednesday the 4th, 2013. He suffers from severe brain trauma, a cracked skull, broken pelvis and tail bone, burnt knees, bruised lungs, broken ear drums, road rash, pneumonia, and is currently in a coma. His family has no insurance.

Ben is the son of author David Farland, whose books have won multiple awards, and who is widely known as a mentor to many prominent authors, such as Brandon Sanderson, Stephenie Meyer, and Brandon Mull.

Ben's treatment are expected to rise above $1,000,0000. To help raise money for Ben, we are having a book bomb (focused on Nightingale and Million Dollar Outlines) on behalf of Ben.

Information on how to help is in this post and on this website/blog. 

I WANT TO HELP BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY!

The best way you can help is by spreading the word of Ben’s donation page, and/or this book bomb. Share it on facebook, twitter, pinterest, your blog—anywhere you can. Invite others to the event.


TELL ME MORE ABOUT BEN. WILL HE BE OKAY?

David Farland has been keeping everyone posted on facebook. Subscribe or friend him to get up-to-date information: Dave's Facebook. At the moment, Ben is stable and appears to be improving.

The Secret by Taryn Taylor

The Secret by Taryn Taylor

I am so thrilled to tell you about a new release by my friend Taryn Taylor! THE SECRET by Taryn A. Taylor is a Young Adult, Modern Fantasy/Paranormal tale, with a touch of Romance. I just got my copy and I'm excited to read it. Taryn and I went to college together and it's so fun to see what she's created!

Seventeen-year-old Delanie Hart has a past she wants to keep hidden.  Moving to a new state and attending a new high school seems to be just the thing - until she accidentally sees a mark exactly like her own.  When the people she is running from come after her, Lanie is left with a choice - give up what she wants or save her friends. 

~BigWorldNetwork.com (March 24, 2013) 



Buy it at: https://bigworldnetwork.com/site/store/thesecret/

or on Amazon.

About Author:

Taryn A. Taylor grew up moving from small town to small town every few years.  This helped her gain an appreciation for good books, loyal friends, and the fact that a home is a lot more than a house - it's the people that love you.  After receiving a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Communications, she finally began putting all of her stories down on paper, finding it most helpful to eat chocolate during this process. In between raising four amazing boys she loves to go on dates with her husband and watch movies late into the night.

Find Taryn at:

Blog link: http://www.taryntaylor.blogspot.com

Twitter: @tarynataylor

Facebook: Taryn A. Taylor

Irish dance diet - The three levels of performance

Performance-ready Irish dancers
Photo: deviantART user ukapala

April is a big month for many Irish dance organizations. The World Irish Dance Competition in Boston for An Coimisuin dancers, and the World and European Irish dance competition in Germany for WIDA are both held in April. Good luck to all of you ladies and gents working so hard. How do you make certain that you are ready to perform?


How I'm doing on my Irish dance diet:

Month: 4
Weight: 144
Weight lost: 11 pounds
Muscle gained: 6.5
Total fat loss: 17.5

You practice your Irish dance steps over, and over until you think you've got it just right. But how do you feel when you hit the stage? Chances are, if you've performed, you've had days when you fly across the stage, and others when you can't seem to get your feet to obey you. Much of your success onstage will depend on what level of performance you are at.

When performing onstage, there are three levels of performance:


1-Memorization

At this stage you are worried that you might forget a step. An observer may be able to see it in your expression as you mental calculate what comes next.

How to get past this step? Practice, practice, practice until your dance becomes engrained into your muscles and you  no longer have to think about what your body is doing.

2-Self-consciousness

You are worried about what you look like to others. Are my feet turned out? Does my dress flatter my figure? How do I look when I leap?

How to get past this step? Perform your dance for anyone who will pay attention--your mom, your dog, onlookers in the grocery store. Prepare your costume, makeup and hair beforehand so that you feel confident.

3-Letting go

Now you are ready. Your steps are a natural extension of your feet, and you can turn inward and give the full expression of emotion and drama to your audience. This is the time to shine.

Have you ever experienced the third level of performance? How did you get there?

Inevitable by Tamara Hart Heiner

Inevitable by Tamara Hart Heiner

I'm excited to share my friend Tamara's newest novel, Inevitable. Isn't the cover lovely?

Visions of death plague Jayne, who thinks watching her boyfriend die is the worst that could happen to her. But when she witnesses a murder, Jayne finds herself caught up in a dangerous world of intrigue and suspense.

As it turns out, she is not the only one doing the stalking. The killer is on to her, and all of her visions of the dying don't reveal how her life will end. Somehow, she must stop the murderer before he arranges Jayne's own inevitable death.

~Published March 8th 2013 by Tamark Books

Available on Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, Barnes & Noble.com, and Kobo.com!


After an awesome ebook launch on Facebook, Tamara's trying hard to top that with the paperback. So here's the plan:

1) For the entire month of March, every comment on Tamara's blog gets entered into a drawing to win a HARD COPY of one of her books. (You get to choose which one!)

2) Leave a comment on THIS BLOG for a chance to win ALL of her young adult ebooks!

3) Enter the Goodreads Giveaway for another chance to win Inevitable.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Inevitable

by Tamara Hart Heiner

Giveaway ends April 02, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

4) If you SPREAD THE NEWS, whether it's on your blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, or just plain word of mouth, you'll be entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble gift card. Email Tamara at tamarahartheiner dot com and tell her how many times you did it, and you'll be entered into the drawing that many times!

About the author: I live in Arkansas with my husband and three children, two crazy boys and one pretty little princess. I used to spend a lot of time writing until I had a baby and discovered Facebook. Now you'll often find me on there pretending to have a social life.

I am the author of three young adult suspense novels, PERILOUS, ALTERCATION, and INEVITABLE. You can find out more about what I'm writing and catch deleted scenes from my books on my blog at http://tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com.